St. Bonaventure University intends to opt into the House v. NCAA settlement, a landmark resolution addressing past restrictions on student-athlete compensation.

The deadline to opt in is March 1. U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken won’t rule on a final approval of the settlement before an April 7 hearing.

The decision allows the university to develop a more sustainable and equitable model for collegiate athletics while securing protections from future litigation related to name, image and likeness (NIL) restrictions.

“This is a move designed to strengthen our university as a whole, not just Athletics. President Gingerich and our Board of Trustees recognize the value a successful men’s basketball program brings to the university, and I appreciate their leadership in this moment of significant change,” said Bob Beretta, vice president and director of Intercollegiate Athletics. “Opting into the settlement terms will allow St. Bonaventure Athletics to remain competitive nationally and to continue to deliver our student-athletes a championship experience.

“We will utilize our department resources strategically and develop pathways for student-athlete financial support that haven’t existed previously. We are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead.”

The decision will not increase the financial investment the university makes in the Department of Athletics, said Dr. Jeff Gingerich, university president.

“From both a branding and historical perspective, remaining competitive in a league with the footprint and reputation of the Atlantic 10 is important for us,” Gingerich said. “Maintaining the status quo just didn’t make sense because the decision to opt in is essentially a procedural change. We’re focusing primarily on the method in which benefits are delivered to student-athletes rather than the level of investment the university makes in athletics.”

Opting into the settlement gives schools institutional control over player agreement details, shifting fundraising and accountability for player compensation from externally managed “collectives” — in SBU’s case Team Unfurl, formed by several alumni in 2023 — to the university.

Team Unfurl will continue to operate as an important support mechanism for SBU’s athletics program. The collective will continue to actively fundraise for SBU student-athlete NIL opportunities and pursue new and creative revenue streams.

The House v. NCAA settlement requires all Division I schools — even those that choose not to opt into the student-athlete compensation portion of the agreement — to pay into the $2.8 billion settlement over the next 10 years to compensate current and former college athletes for the NCAA’s use of their name, image and likeness (NIL). 

To fulfill its part of the financial settlement, St. Bonaventure will contribute an estimated $263,000 per year over the next 10 years to the payout fund and adhere to new roster and scholarship limits.

Annual contributions from each school are dependent on a number of factors, including the number of teams sponsored at the Division I level and the amount of athletic aid distributed by each institution.

The Power Four conferences and those who opt into the settlement also must adjust to newly mandated roster caps for all NCAA sports. The roster-cap requirement shouldn’t have a negative impact on university enrollment, Beretta said.

“Some of our sports may lose a few athletes, but with the growth of our track program and the ability of some of our other sports to reach their roster limits, we don’t anticipate an adverse effect on enrollment,” he said.

The NCAA and Power Four conferences — the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC — are named in the lawsuit and settlement and members of those leagues are required to opt in to the settlement.

Answers to additional questions about the impact of the settlement are available here.

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure is a community committed to transforming the lives of its students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a commitment to academic excellence and lifelong civic engagement. Out of 167 regional universities in the North, St. Bonaventure was ranked #6 for value and #14 for innovation by U.S. News and World Report (2024).